


I Guess We’re Having A Baby

by cryptidsarereal



Series: i guess i’m putting them here coz they all in the same verse kinda [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Babies, Cotton Candy Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, SPACE GAYS GONNA ADOPT BABIES, space dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidsarereal/pseuds/cryptidsarereal
Summary: “Do you want a baby?”Keith chokes on his alien coffee. Struggled to breathe for a few more minutes then looks at Lance who was growing more and more anxious with his reaction. “A baby?”“…yes.”“Like baby-baby? As in cleaning poop, changing diapers- baby? As in spoon feeding-baby, baby?”“Yes, Keith. That kind of baby. Also I was thinking something more of bundle of happiness, kind. The I’m cradling the world in my arms- thing. You’re good at that, right- cradling?”“Yeah, cradling you. Not some totally reliant fragile creature!”“Crea- Keith, you used to be a baby at some point! …Right?”“Yes, Lance, we have both seen baby Galras, proving once and for all that we do not come out of an alien membrane as a fully-grown teenager.”





	I Guess We’re Having A Baby

 

 

 

“Okay, Lance, what do you want?”

 

Keith pours himself a cup of coffee from the alien machine he never quite got used to using. No matter how long he and Lance have had it in their home in the alien planet. He can feel Lance’s hawk like gaze on him, something he usually used before sniping someone with deadly accuracy. Keith carries his cup of not-quite-coffee to the table where Lance is tellingly not eating his food, clearly waiting to jump on Keith with whatever it is he’s thinking about this time.

 

“What do you mean ‘what do I want’?”, Lance says stubbornly. Which is enough to tell Keith, that there is something Lance wants. And it’s probably something Keith wouldn’t want.

 

“Let’s not pretend you haven’t been tiptoeing around me ever since I arrived from that rescue mission. Tell me.” Keith raised an eyebrow, side eyeing Lance through his coffee cup.

 

Lance squirms in his seat, taps his fingers on the table. He pursed his lips, fidgets a little bit more, then finally blurts out,

 

“Do you want a baby?”

 

Keith chokes on his alien coffee. Struggled to breathe for a few more minutes then looks at Lance who was growing more and more anxious with his reaction. “A baby?”

 

“…yes.”

 

“Like baby-baby? As in cleaning poop, changing diapers- baby? As in spoon feeding-baby, baby?”

 

Lance rolls his eyes, “Yes, Keith. That kind of baby. Also I was thinking something more of bundle of happiness, kind. The I’m cradling the world in my arms- thing. You’re good at that, right- cradling?”

 

“Yeah, cradling you. Not some totally reliant fragile creature!”

 

“Crea- Keith, you used to be a baby at some point,” then falters upon remembering that his husband is of a half-different species, “…right?”

 

“Yes, Lance, we have both seen baby Galras, proving once and for all that we do not come out of an alien membrane as a fully-grown teenager.”

 

Oh, hell. He was bitching. Keith starts bitching whenever he’s panicking and want to get out of a conversation.

 

“Ohhh… kay. Glad we settled that. So. Kids, yes…? no….?” Then Lance glanced down worriedly at Keith’s coffee. “Oh honey.”

 

Keith looked down. He was adding domestically-cultured plant milk on his not-quite-coffee.

 

Yup. He’s gone down the deep end.

 

He stood up abruptly, taking his mug with him. Maybe if he didn’t look at Lance’s eyes he could think better. Articulate. “Why…? did you… think… this… ever?”

 

Okay, nice try.

 

“I mean,” Lance huffed.

 

Oh no, Lance just said ‘I mean’ immediately followed by a breathy laugh. His husband is trying not to feel upset. Keith gripped the counter for support.

 

“Well—… we’ve been together for a couple of years now. Not that years matter in space, but… you know, I’ve been thinking we could probably take our relationship to another level. Also, it’s just— you’ve been busy. With Marmora-Stuff, and it’s been really peaceful since the war ended. Team Voltron have so much free time now. And I— look, it’s lonely being here in the house all day. Alone. Probs, kinda.”

 

Keith exhaled loudly. “Oh so. You’re just lonely. Good.”

 

Lance gave him a flat look.

 

“I mean— Not good! It’s bad, it’s so bad. We should totally think of someway to make you happier. Hey, about a date… instead?” Instead of kids.

 

“Thanks, man.” Lance gave him a sweet smile. “I know you’re really trying hard to consider my feelings but you’re still a fucking asshole dealing with our current topic here. And no. It’s not that kind of lonely that’s solved with a date. Whatever, you’re busy. You won’t understand.”

 

“Try me.”

 

“Babe, you’re standing ten meters away from me. You’re literally huddling in a corner.”

 

“I know. I just. I’ll understand you from right here.”

 

“Okay. You’re a fucking coward, fine. But I’ll just let it sit there: I want kids.”

 

“Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Cool.”

 

They blinked at each other for a long while.

 

Keith was starting to think he could get away from this conversation.

 

“… Keith, I gave you the pause to get an answer.”

 

Or not.

 

“Uh….” Keith wisely did not say another word, just looked around he’s near vicinity for a distraction. There’s a garbage chute. He’ll improvise.

 

He opened his mouth but he realised no words were coming out. Too late, his hands were already pushing buttons to open the chute. So he tossed in the only thing in his hand: his alien coffee mug.

 

He never aborted a situation so quickly his whole life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So….”

 

Hunk peeked at Lance through the steam coming up from his alien drink. They call it ‘Ka-Boose’ which was a name Lance would want to avoid eating at all cost, but his friend is beyond reason. It’s _sizzling_ for heaven’s sake!

 

“How’d it go with the baby and Keith?”

 

“Well,” Lance set down his drink which sat calmly at the bottom of his glass unlike Hunk’s, thank-you-very-much. It’s pink colour was also starting to turn appropriately blue, which was how it got it’s name ‘Mood Glunk’, because it reads the mood of the drinker. Or in this planet, the ‘glunker’.

 

“First off, there’s no ‘the baby’ yet. AND… might never be happening. Keith’s words not mine. Actually no, they’re my words but I read it from his mind, telepathically and without checking his opinion. Clear as Shiro’s white tuft.” Lance breathed deeply, “Operation Have A Baby is a no go.”

 

“Aw, buddy…” Hunk squinted at him sympathetically, reaching across the hovering table to pat at Lance hand. “I know you were really excited to have a kid. But hey, maybe you just misread his thoughts. Maybe he really meant, ‘this is not happening’ like in an excited disbelieving way?”

 

Lance dropped his elbows on the table and dunked his head in his hands. He groaned, “No, Hunk you don’t understand…”

 

Lance grabbed at his hair and whispered hoarsely,

 

_“Keith put alien non-milk in his alien non-coffee.”_

 

“Oh no.” Hunk said, the same time another voice barked, “Oof! Not a hot idea.”

 

“Pidge!” Lance whined at Pidge, because he can. Because the world does not make sense anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.

 

Pidge dropped on the hover chair between them, setting a tall green slush-like substance that pulsed glowing light. Like a firefly.

 

“I’m sorry to hear whatever it is Keith didn’t agree doing with you, Lance. Like the hundred-thousand other things he understandably did not agree doing with you.”

 

“What’s understandable about not going on a date in a totally deserted planet?”

 

“Oh my god, Lance!” Pidge rolled their eyes. “It’s simple Keith-code. The planet was _pink_!”

 

Lance slumped his entire upper body on the hover-table, which whined pitifully under his weight. “I don’t even know my own husband anymore.” He rolled his head into his elbows and talked to the table, “Maybe we should just get a divorce…”

 

“Woah, woah, woah there buddy!” Lance looked up to a big-eyed Hunk. “Stop spiralling, there’s no need for a divorce. Maybe you should just talk again to Keith. Maybe he didn’t hear you clearly. That’s what happened when you asked him out the first time.”

 

“That was so bad,” Pidge snorted. “You poured your heart out like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl amongst all that exploding ships, and just— the general sounds of suffering. I was wincing all over in my lion, and that’s because I’m physically hurt via secondhand embarrassment. Maybe you should time your spur of the moment feelings better.”

 

Hunk hummed. “I don’t think you understand the meaning of ‘spur of the moment’, Pidge.”

 

“You’re right. I don’t. Because I see everything as they converge into happenstance. I’m omniscient.” Pidge gingerly slid off one of Lance’s arm on the table, and picked up her drink. “All’s well, ends well. Because he got to say it all over again in their wedding vows. Like a sad middle-school presentation. I’m the middle school teacher who asked Lance to repeat his presentation.”

 

Lance groaned mournfully. His Mood Glunk turned purple.

 

“Not helping, Pidge!” Hunk berated. But in a whisper to, you know, soften the blow.

 

“Honestly, Hunk. I don’t know what you’re worried about. Lance had whined about getting divorced about fifty times now. I bet Keith whines about it to Shiro, too. And look!,” Pidge pointed at the slumped figure across the table. “They’re still space married and very much gay! Disgustingly so!”

 

“So what if Keith’s still gay about me? He’s not gay about having kids!”

 

“Oh no.” Pidge simmered. “This is about kids?”

 

“Yeah,” Hunk sombrely as he rubbed Lance’s back. “Keith insinuated a total nuh-uh.”

 

“Oh my god, what a jerk! Don’t you worry about that jerk, Lance.”

 

“The jerk you’re talking about is still my husband, Pidge.”

 

“I don’t care if he’s my friend slash fellow paladin slash former classmate slash brother’s friend’s brother slash friend’s husband slash eugh when did I let my relationships all tangled up? Doesn’t matter! Lance, I got you. I could always make you one!”

 

Hunk choked on his sizzling drink. “Uhm… what’cha talking about, buddy?”

 

Pidge looked at them innocently. “We’re talking about getting a personal robot butler for their house right?”

 

“No!”

 

“I specifically said the words ‘kids’, Pidge.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry I call my robots ‘baby’ or ‘kids’. And if any of you ever convince them otherwise, I’ll hunt you down… wait—.” Pidge suddenly turned a sickly shade, like her drink. “Fuckin shit, did I just suggest I help make your babies?”

 

Before waiting for their replies, which was a creaking nod of their heads, Pidge stood up from their chair abruptly, “Ew, ew, ew, EW! I’m not taking part of this conversation anymore! Fuck, I was totally out of context from the moment I walked in. I’m just gonna read your messages next time.”

 

They turned to a table with three ant looking aliens and dumped her drink all over their food… which they ate up rather enthusiastically. Pidge threw her head back, “You’re doomed Lance! You’re never gonna have kids!”

 

Lance groaned into the table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Lance wants to have babies.”

 

“Oh. My. Quiznak.” Allura gaped at him like Keith just announced an entire planet just got liberated. “I’m so excited my Altean is mixing with your Earth language.”

 

Keith smacked his dry lips. “Sure. You could call it Alt-lish. Shiro? Anything you’d wanna share to un-fuck my situation?”

 

Shiro had his hands pressed together in a prayer-like manner over his lips. Not in anyway hiding the grin forming in his— general face area. His eyes were twinkling. If his nose scar could sing, it would have.

 

“Ugh. Guess not. That’s it. We’re getting a divorce.”

 

Shiro slammed his hands on the table. “No. You will not. You will stay married and gay. You will walk up to Lance and say you’re sorry for running away this morning. You will admit that you’re a fucking coward. And,” his grin practically split his face. “You will have kids with Lance.”

 

“Ugh. Get out of our married lives, Mom.”

 

“Come on, Keith. You used to get annoyed whenever I remind you about protected sex. Now I’m telling you to just. Go!”

 

Right. Go. Wiieee.

 

“Ew no, Shiro. Put me back in the planet where birth control is a thing everybody tries but nobody succeeds in doing, where gay couples would be discriminated in having kids.”

 

“That’s not funny, Keith. A lot of people would fight for this opportunity that you’re given.”

 

“M’kay, Mother Teresa. We both still very much are guys with dicks. How are we even going to make a baby?” Keith asks the same time Allura asks, “Wait- If Shiro is the mother of the group then what am I?”

 

“We’re in space. I don’t even know why you’re asking that question.” Shiro says, which could answer both the questions.

 

“I don’t know? Maybe I’m concerned about something that has to do with my sperm? Also, Allura you’re the alpha-alpha-mom, you should know this.”

 

“Keith,” Allura looks at him in the eye. “You do not have to worry about your sperm. I know a  planet that has the technological advancement you and Lance need to grow babies. Your sperms are totally safe.”

 

“I physically hate just about all the things you just said.”

 

“I would trust them with Shiro’s sperm.”

 

Keith put his hands to his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, wishing all the worst images to go away. “Now I’m just maimed and incapable of acknowledging anything you say.”

 

“Look, kiddo—.”

 

“Oh no, you’re about to manipulate all the things you know about me and would probably convince me but only after I denied that your advice makes sense.”

 

A huge sigh. “I know you have Mommy— no, Daddy— no, parental issues—.”

 

“Ha! Wrong!” Keith points at Shiro, because he’s a grown married man who points his finger at people and laugh at them. “How can I have parental issues when I didn’t have my parents?”

 

“…— I’m just gonna ignore that. But what I’m saying is, maybe this is the time for you to get over that and have kids of your own. Maybe having kids would help you make peace with your past and move on.”

 

“Yes. I agree.” Allura adds with a nod. “It’s about time you cut your hair shorter. It’s barring your field of vision, huge disadvantage in close fights.”

 

Shiro smiles at Allura the kind of smile only a lover would give when he’s simultaneously endeared and embarrassed of their loved one. Keith can relate.

 

“Alright. Fine.”

 

Shiro’s metal hand clanked as he clapped his hands excitedly. “So you agree about having kids?”

 

“No. I’m just agreeing to letting Lance talk me into it. For now.”

 

“I mean— this is Lance we’re talking about. Keith, if he wants to have babies you are gonna have babies.”

 

“Can we at the very least talk about our future child in singular terms? I already have one man-baby I’m looking after.”

 

“Aw—.”

 

“—It’s not sweet Allura. Also for the record and for the justification of my previous statement: Shiro, you’re advice doesn’t make any sense.”

 

A coughing noise came from the holo-screens, taking all three of them back to the bridge where they were currently holding a meeting with an alien delegate.

 

“Right!” Allura beams all too brightly at the screens, “Let’s talk about the horrible plague destroying your planet!”

 

Keith sat in the whole meeting with his mind galaxies away from where he actually was. It didn’t help that Shiro kept wiggling his eyebrows at him every now and then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lance sulked the whole day after that until Keith finally coaxed him for a ride in their lions to a planet that was completely covered by water. They had a very good time swimming around the vast depths of the pool-planet (as Lance obnoxiously calls it) and Keith thought that was that. They had a treaty mission the next day, and Keith could forget whatever post-coital thoughts Lance must have had that morning.

 

And then it made a turn for the worst.

 

It started with a few dropped hints here and there. Lance kept watching domesticated family dramas. He kept talking to alien families wherever they went, he’d coo at every alien baby he’d see then give Keith the most withering look. Red welcomed him one mission with a flashing presentation on-screens about “Why We Should Have A Baby” created by Lance. With comments and remarks from all Voltron members.

 

It started to feel uncomfortably close to a real fight when they went on a mission one time that involved rescuing children that were being used to pass underground alien information on the crowded cities of the planet. Keith and Pidge were following one alien child in an overpopulated building. He thought he was doing well getting the kid to give them more information but they suddenly lost track of the child somewhere in the crowd.

 

Lance suddenly raged in their comms saying, “This is on you, Keith! You would have known what to do if we actually had a child!”

 

Pidge turns to him with their dirty, dirty little smile and unhelpfully quipped, “Yeah, Keith. This is totally on you and your domesticity problems.”

 

Know what? He really, really, really tried to understand Lance and be patient. But damn, he wasn’t going to be accused of being sloppy in missions. Was he seeing this the wrong way? Probably!

 

Before they know it, he and Lance were having a shouting competition in their living room.

 

“How are we even going to have a baby? In case you haven’t noticed we both have dicks.”

 

“Oh I have been down there a lot. Trust me, I know better than you do about what’s in there.”

 

Keith huffs. “Case in point: How the fuck are we even going to conceive this baby?” Why were they even having this conversation? 

 

“I was thinking of getting an adoption?”

 

“From what- the intergalactic foster care?” Which was the wrong thing to say, because the next few seconds was all it took for Lance to whip out a bunch of papers and opened up foster homes in their screens.

 

“Yes, actually there’s one in this planet. They take care of many alien children that were lost in space or, abandoned, or had their species eradicated by the galra. This- this could be good for us.”

 

“Says who, the intergalactic space counsellor?”

 

“Stop putting the word intergalactic everywhere! At least, come with me to see the foster care unit here in this planet. You won’t even have to think of it as us looking for a child, we were supposed to know these kinds of things anyway. You can just treat this as our mission as paladins.”

 

“As paladins, yeah, sure. Destroy fleets, stop galran movements. Play with kids in your downtime.”

 

“Oh don’t be such a drama queen. You’d love the kids, they’re playful and lively. You can race with the little boys, maybe. Oh there’s this one sweet girl who gave me…” Lance trails off when he sees the disbelief in Keith’s face and smiles embarrassedly. “I’ve only went there twice.”

 

“Twice? Already? Lance, we don’t even know if we’re ready for this. Heck- we don’t even know if we can keep a child. We already have Voltron too look after!”

 

“And if we can take care of millions of aliens, then we can take care of one child. How hard can it be?”

 

“We’re just going to be responsible for one life for the rest of our lives. Yeah, right. How hard can it be?”

 

Lance steps into Keith’s space and hooks an arm over his shoulder. It put a hole straight through his defences. “Please, Keith? You’re gonna be a great dad. You just don’t know it yet. Please? Let’s just try.”

 

Keith took a deep breath. Something he might not be able to do for a long time after that night.

 

“Fine. We’ll see your precious little baby aliens, THEN let’s see if we can manage to have a child.”

 

Lance squealed gleefully and latched on to him like an overgrown koala. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’d have a great time, I promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keith was not having a good time.

 

Lance winced as a group of alien kids of all races immediately ran up to his husband as soon as they saw the red bayard on his hip and started demanding he show off his sword. Keith had this Level Two scowl on; which could either mean he was seconds from skewering someone OR he was currently held in overwhelming sense of joy. They were married now, and Lance still couldn’t tell.

 

“Please, Mister Mullet!”, they said.

 

“Show us the sword!”

 

“Yeah, show us the sword!”

 

Keith throws a glare in his direction and mouthed: _You did this_. To which he just shrugged at. He really enjoyed seeing his husband get overwhelmed by a couple of non-threatening baby aliens.

 

Smiling, he watched as the group of kids swept Keith away to the playground of the foster care and waited for them to get distracted before he slipped into the colourful building of the main house. He’d been honest when he said that he’d only been there twice, but he already got the building mapped out. Know where the kids hang around to eat, where they took a bath.

 

He bounded the flight of steps to the second floor where one of the home’s nurses greeted him with a smile. “Back again, aren’t you Mister Paladin?”

 

Lance nodded back. “Yes, I am Sher. Hey, guess what?”

 

Sher’s petal-like ears fluttered back to her head. “Your husband has come with you to visit the kids. I could sense the lightness of your foot when you ran up here. The kids are also being unusually loud in the playground.”

 

He grinned, falling into step as she led him again into the room he’d been specifically fixated to from the first time he found the home. “Right again, Sher. I’m glad they liked him, it was a lot of work trying to bring him here.”

 

“I would imagine you’d be having more troubles trying to get him away from the kids than getting him in.”

 

He barked out a laugh, opening the door to a clean white room that was pretty much empty save from the lone incubator surrounded by a couple of man-sized machines.

 

“How is she?”

 

Sher immediately went into work, checking out the instruments that were too complicated for Lance to understand. “She’d had a couple of nights with high fever, scared all of us to high heavens. But she is strong-willed, even as a baby, and the fever did not last long. We all expect her to be waking up very very soon Mister Paladin.”

 

“That’s.” Lance didn’t expect himself to be so affected by the news. “That’s really great, Sher. Thank’s for all you’re doing for her.”

 

Sher shook her head, and looked at him with her clear gray eyes. “It’s you we should be thankful for, Mister Paladin. You and the others. Voltron had helped so many people in need, especially the children of the war. You give us the hope to continue the work here. Giving these children, even in the smallest ways, a home.”

 

Lance hummed, not trusting himself to be able to say anything without tearing up. He stared instead at the inside of the incubator, where a Galran baby girl lay dozing in a pink haze of light.

 

She was about a foot small, too small for a healthy Galran baby. Her skin was a pale pink, made even paler by the lighting. She didn’t seem to have any hair, but whenever he squinted he could swear there were a few growing strands on her cute little head.

 

Like Sher said, she seemed fine. She breathed fine, unlike the first time he handed her to this orphanage. Lance had been in a sort of crazed panic, she was puffing small breaths of air in and for too long intervals that he had to use an oxygen mask on her. He was surprised she survived her first night. Even now, hooked up in all kinds of wires and tubes, he doubted she’d survive this long.

 

“So.”

 

Lance startled, whirling around to see Keith standing by the doorway.

 

“This is really where you had been going.” Keith says as he walks up to Lance and wound an arm around his waist.

 

“Where did Sher go?”

 

“If you mean the yellow nurse lady who went to save me from the kids, then yeah. She went to save me from the kids.”

 

Lance smiled, a little bit embarrassed that he’d been caught here. It’s not that he wanted to hide this from Keith, it’s just something that he’d been doing alone and he kind of wants to soak in the privacy of it.

 

Keith was watching him with a soft look on his face. “I remember her.”

 

He nods. “Yeah.”

 

“That was a really crude mission.”

 

“It was.”

 

“I’m surprised they even accepted her, Galras aren’t exactly a popular race these days.”

 

Lance hummed as Keith propped his chin on his shoulder. He settled into the warmth on his back. “This home was the only one. I was so scared they wouldn’t take good care of her, and she wouldn’t survive another day. But I came back to see, and she’d been doing fine ever since, but… well, we’ve been busy.”

 

“We’ve been busy.” He agreed.

 

They went silent for a long while, letting the constant beeps and whirs of the machine fill in the space. They watched her take in each rightfully taken breath. She startles once, as if she knows they were there and she’d challenge a fight to validate her existence.

 

“Lance. I know you’re not, and please don’t think that I ever doubted your heart is in the right place… But if you’re doing this out of guilt… It’s not— you weren’t at fault for whatever happened to her parents—.”

 

“I know, I know. I—.” Lance took a deep breath. “I admit, I do have nightmares about it.” The arms around his waist tightened. “At first, I was just scared. I knew I didn’t have to be responsible, and it’s just… the right thing to do. But it’s not that. Anymore. It’s not. It’s just. Her.”

 

Keith goes silent again, no doubt thinking too much into it. He does that a lot.

 

“Why did you want to have kids?”

 

He sighed. “Well I guess that should have been the first thing we talked about.”

 

“Yeah. We’re so not good at talking.”

 

“… Okay, this is gonna be really weird. Remember that one mission when we had to move the children from the planet T’Loc to a safe zone galaxy? The kids were all over you and I totally thought it would be a good fun to see you get so overwhelmed.”

 

“Oh my god. Please don’t tell me I’m the reason you want to have kids.”

 

“You are the reason I want to have kids.”

 

“Dammit, I always get played by myself.”

 

“That you do, husband. We talked after that mission, and you said…”

 

“‘ _I’m just really glad to know that someone in this universe cares for these kids. And I get to be one of them.’”_ They said together.

 

Lance laughs and continues, “And I just thought. Man! I fell in love with such a fucked-up man.”

 

“Come on, Lance. I cut my hair a lot shorter now.” They chuckled.

 

“But I also thought. Someone who truly, honestly cares for people, someone who’d literally gives his life for others. That someone, I would be honoured to live forever with, could start a family with.”

 

Lance turned around, gripping Keith by the elbows.

 

“… But the real reason I wanted to have kids, is because… I guess I’ve just always felt responsible about giving you a family you deserve. I don’t know much about your past, and I should probably annoy Shiro into telling me the story, but I do know that you’ve been alone for the most part. I don’t know, you just deserve so much happiness, and I felt really responsible for giving you that. Happiness. Home.”

 

Keith looks at him with a scowl, and Lance know that’s the one that says overwhelming sense of joy. He simply said, “Okay.”

 

“Okay.” Lance smiled, drawing in him for a hug but Keith stopped him.

 

“No, Lance. I mean. Okay. I want to have a child too.”

 

Lance gaped at him, “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, I saw you with the kids today. And her,” he nodded at the incubator. “And I really thought ‘Wow, I’m so gonna suck being a dad’—.”

 

“Keith.”

 

“—Because you’re just so good at it. And you look so happy. And I’m kinda jealous of them now because I… I really, really want to share in that happiness.”

 

“Keith.” His voice came out all warble-y.

 

“M’kay, you can cry on my shoulder now.”

 

Which he did. There really wasn’t any need for more words.

 

“Man, you’re quivering like a leaf.”

 

Or not.

 

“I won’t let you ruin this moment, Keith.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lance was a freak monster.

 

Somehow, he thought that having a child in the house would lessen that. It didn’t.

 

In fact, he was surprised of himself for having infinite patience to overcome Lance’s meltdowns.

 

This was one of them meltdowns.

 

“Keith, they’re late! What if they had trouble on the way here. What if they realise our house was too far from the main city. What if they cancel the adoption process.” Lance was pacing by the door, punching the button on the wall screens to give him a view of their driveway every now and then. A frown growing on his face.

 

“Relax, babe. It’s been only a tick from our meeting time.”

 

“Did you find all the documents we need? You can’t miss anything.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Yes Lance, it’s always been where you’ve left it the last time. Your data pad, my data pad. The Lions’ information system. I bet you even have copy in the Castle.”

 

“Of course I did. We can never be too sure.”

 

“Just calm down. I bet they’ll be getting here any second now—.”

 

“Oh god! I forgot to put customary candles on the table. Should I go to the market and by some?” He pat down his pants. “You stall them when they get here—.”

 

“Lance!” He grabbed his hands tightly and turned him around to face him. “What’s going on with you, we don’t need the candles. We’re fine.”

 

Lance wriggled out of his hold, but he tightened his grip. He looks at Keith with a scathing look, “You’re just saying because you don’t care about this as much as I do.”

 

“What?” He said incredulously. “I’ve literally forgotten other people existed in the duration of this adoption. What’s really going on with you?”

 

“I’m sorry. I just—.” Lance moaned pitifully and sank down on their couch. “I feel like,…” Then he started mumbling words to himself and Keith knows this is a bad meltdown.

 

“Do I have to give a call to the foster care…?”

 

“No!” Lance blurted, then his shoulders hunched. “Look, it’s nothing. I’ve just been feeling a little down, lately. Because I’ve been doing all the paperwork. And I… feel like I’m doing all this on my own.”

 

He pressed his knuckles over his eyes, throwing his head back as he sagged further into the couch.

 

“Oh, man…” Keith sat beside him. “Lance. I’ve been letting you do all the work because you seemed to have so much fun doing it. You looked so happy, I could just watch you from a corner and die a satisfied man. The baby’s room looks so nice. Everything is perfect. You’re perfect. The baby will be perfect. Everything will go just fine. I promise.”

 

Lance started sniffling.

 

“Oh my god, are you crying already? I was literally saying you’re my god, or something.”

 

“Keith, what if we mess this up?”

 

“ _We won’t_.” He said empathically. “Listen. Do you want to know the reason I agreed to having a baby?” Without waiting for a reply, he continues, “Because you made me feel like I could be a good dad. You believed in me, even though I ran away like a chicken the moment you told me. But I also… I want to live up to your expectations too. I want to be the person you keep saying I am. Because I’m really starting to believe that I could be….”

 

“… So please stop freaking out and stop dripping snot all over our couch. Our guests are here.”

 

“Okay.” Lance smiled wetly, wiping at his eyes and nose. “Would you please get the door, dear?”

 

“Got it.”

 

Keith stood up, he skin tingling with anticipation when he saw the people huddled by their for and looked back at Lance who’d followed him by the door.

 

‘Don’t freak out.’ He mouthed.

 

Lance bobbed his head enthusiastically. Keith can’t tell if it was a nod or a shake of his head but he figured that would have to be enough.

 

Three aliens from the foster care unit came in, all jolly and warm and proved him what a messy business it all was, having a baby. Sher the home nurse, came in last, pushing in the hovering baby stroller.

 

She nods at them solemnly, “It is wonderful day wouldn’t you say so, Misters Paladins.”

 

“Yeah.” Keith couldn’t help the smile on his face. “Yeah, it is, Sher.”

 

They both agreed that they will come the adoption day to just the two of them. They’d have plenty of time sharing their new baby with the others.

 

“I’m sure you can’t wait to meet her, officially.” She dropped down on the stroller and slid a finger on the cover, immediately cascading the plastic like plates that covered its occupant.

 

Keith’s heart climbed to his throat. Ultimately clogging any words he’d been about to say.

 

Sher lifted the Galran baby girl and handed her to Lance. Which he was glad for, if it was him he would’ve immediately dropped the baby.

 

Lance went all quiet with it, which was both unusual and endearing. He smelled her head, touched her cheeks, played with her hands. The baby closed her hands around his index finger and curled into the crook of Lance’s neck with a cooing sound.

 

He would punch anybody if they mentioned the tears forming in his eyes. He was not crying, dammit.

 

After that, the two foster care representatives sat on their dining table with him to discuss the finishing processes involved. It wasn’t much, Allura and Pidge had helped a lot so that the adoption was as clean and smooth as could be.

 

He’d left Lance and Sher with the baby in the living room, surely discussing things like feeding, and medications. Baby stuff.

 

As he was about to sign on the paper officially announcing them as parents of the baby, he looked into the living room and found Lance staring at him. Suddenly, whatever they were discussing pushed into the back of his head.

 

Because Lance was looking at him with those big blue eyes, their child to-be sleeping comfortably on his shoulder. And mouthed the words, ‘Thank you.’

 

‘I love you’, he mouthed back.

 

Lance presses his lips on the baby’s forehead. ‘I love you.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that night, when they were too high-strung to leave the baby’s room, they huddled into the corner and put the little cushy pillows in a pile around them.

 

“We haven’t thought of a name.” Keith remembered suddenly.

 

“Oh my god.” Lance sat up. “What the fuck?”

 

“Shh, not in front of the baby. Man, come on.”

 

“I can’t believe we forgot about it. They didn’t ask for it in the papers.”

 

“Dunno. They might have. I wasn’t paying attention.”

 

 

 

 

 

“She’s perfect.”

 

“Yeah, she is.”

 

“She’s pink, Keith. How are you gonna put up with that.”

 

“I love pink now, pink is the color of my world from now on.”

 

“Pffft. Dork. You’re such a fan.”

 

“I know. I’d be doting on her so hard.”

 

 

 

 

“Rose. She looks like a rose.”

 

“Rosa, then. After your mom.”

 

“Rosa. It’s perfect.”

 

“Rosa.”

**Author's Note:**

> anybody wanna see them mess up spectacularly in changing baby diapers? sign up below.
> 
> hint: Shiro gets the job.


End file.
